In a bold move by Cricket Australia, star players Steve Smith and Adam Zampa have been sent home from India ahead of the pivotal 3rd T20I in Guwahati. With three matches remaining in the series, the decision to recall these key players reflects a strategic shake-up in the squad. Additionally, four more players, namely Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis, and Sean Abbott, are set to depart on Wednesday as part of a comprehensive workload management plan.

The team’s restructuring includes the introduction of replacements for the series. Wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Philippe and power-hitter Ben McDermott are set to join the squad before the 3rd T20I in Guwahati. Moreover, Ben Dwarshuis and spinner Chris Green from New South Wales are scheduled to link up with the team in Raipur ahead of the fourth match.

The revised Australia squad for the 3rd T20I includes players such as Matthew Wade (c), Jason Behrendorff, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Chris Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Ben McDermott, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, and Kane Richardson.

Reflecting on the changes, Australia’s stand-in head coach Andre Borovec shared:

“One of the things we had in our planning coming into this series was to have a look at Steve (Smith) up top, and we’ve had a chance to do that now. We’re extremely happy with the intent that he’s shown with the bat; (I) couldn’t fault it actually.”

Looking ahead, Australia is gearing up for a series of 10 T20 internationals leading up to next year’s T20 World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean.

Australia T20 squad: Matthew Wade (c), Aaron Hardie, Jason Behrendorff, Sean Abbott (withdrawn), Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Chris Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (withdrawn), Glenn Maxwell (withdrawn), Ben McDermott, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith (withdrawn), Marcus Stoinis (withdrawn), Kane Richardson, and Adam Zampa (withdrawn).

India T20 squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vc), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, and Shreyas Iyer (last two matches only).

In a standout display against arch-rivals England, Australian spinner Adam Zampa delivered a match-winning performance that he dubbed the “most satisfying” ODI of his career. Zampa’s contributions were multi-faceted, including a blazing 29 off 19 balls at the crease, a tight bowling spell of 3/21, and a spectacular running catch that dismissed David Willey.

Reflecting on his performance, Zampa expressed his satisfaction, saying,

“It’s probably the most satisfying ODI I’ve ever played to be honest.”

He highlighted the importance of his partnership with Starc in the batting innings, emphasizing the need to balance aggression with sensible play. Zampa was particularly pleased with his batting contribution, and he acknowledged that fielding wasn’t necessarily his forte, making the catch even more gratifying.

Zampa’s excellence extended to his bowling performance, where he managed to dismiss crucial players like Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, and skipper Jos Buttler. He described this as one of his most satisfying bowling efforts, especially considering the quality of the batsmen he faced, mainly left-handers.

Although Test cricket has yet to see Zampa’s debut, he approached the subject with a pragmatic outlook. He admitted that while he was hopeful for a chance, he understood the challenges, especially in subcontinental conditions. Despite missing out on the tour of India, Zampa shifted his focus to the World Cup, with an eye on the upcoming T20 World Cup as well.

“There aren’t a lot of leg spinners playing Test cricket at the moment either. I was hopeful, obviously would have loved to have still played that in that test series but as soon as I found out I wasn’t playing and kind of saw how the games were going in that series I started concentrating on the World Cup. We’ve got this one and obviously the T20 World Cup coming up next year as well so there was plenty to look forward to,” he added.